Ezekiel 23:46-49
46 “Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered. 47 For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes. 48 In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to others not to follow their wicked example. 49 You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.”
I have recently returned from a four day stay in New Orleans, Louisiana. While there I took in a few of the sight seeing tours.
Due to the Catholicism and Voodoo mixture that is predominate in this area, as well as the fascination with the way people are buried, and a city that is known for its unbridled lewdness, I was able to witness the effect of an idolatrous society first hand.
I don’t happen to believe most people are aware of where our nation is heading due to the anti-Christian sentiment that is taking over our nation.
According to two of our tour guides the protestant churches of New Orleans are shrinking quickly. The Catholic Church still has quite a hold on the community largely due to laws of the past that stated you couldn’t reside in the French Quarter if you were not Catholic.
So, Catholicism has a major hold on the city.
New Orleans is known as the Voodoo capital of the United States. Voodoo and Catholicism seem to be closely related. Many Catholics would protest at such a remark. But if you look closely you can see how the religiousness of the two belief systems unite together rather well.
Hidden behind the saints of the church are the spirits of Voodoo.
Some of the major saints of Catholicism like Mary, Peter, Patrick and Dominic are actually points of worship in Voodoo. No true saint or angel would receive the worship of people. They turn this worship away from themselves and to the Lord.
In Voodoo these spirits receive the people’s worship. They thrive on the worship. So what is really happening is people are worshiping falsely. They are looking to saints, angels, dead family members and church leaders that have passed away to intercede on their behalf.
What is really happening is evil spirits or fallen angels are deceiving people to look to them as their point of adoration, praise and worship. The effect is a very powerful realm of sinfulness.
Many people that follow the Catholic religion do not see how idolatrous their religion really is. Until you see a religion like Voodoo practiced you don’t really comprehend how non-Christian and ungodly it really is.
Anytime you are giving your worship to anything other than Jesus Christ or seeking anyone other than Jesus Christ as an intercessor between you and the Almighty you are worshiping falsely. You are being deceived by fallen spirits to draw your worship away from the Christ and to a lesser being. This irritates the Almighty God of Heaven and earth who sent His only Son to be our only Savior.
Now let’s reread our passage.
Ezekiel 23:46-49
46 “Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered. 47 For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes. 48 In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to others not to follow their wicked example. 49 You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.”
You may not be aware of your idolatry but God is. So are the spirits that are keeping you from worshiping properly.
Beware! Your religion may be false and the truth is being hidden from you by some crafty evil spirits.
Hi Tom,
I have read you daily posts and have always taken the time to reflect on your thoughts. However, I strictly disagree with your attack on Catholicism in your Recognizing Idolatry column.
If I call your comments as “inspired messages,” am I treating you as an idol by saying God inspired you to make the messages? I believe the answer is no, and that all of us should emulate the teachings of God, and not be afraid to tell others. The spread of the Good News was from Peter, Paul and others who, according to my understanding of the book of Acts. Those people that have not been afraid to do so, even to their own death, and not worshiped by Catholics, they are simply giving recognition for their courage in doing and saying what was right.
The Catholic’s use of the crucifix emphasizes Jesus’ sacrifice for us. To me, the use of an unadorned cross indicates the use of an idol, not the recognition of Jesus’ suffering. In any event, I have been both a Methodist and am currently a Catholic. My faith has become much more meaningful, and my personal relationship with God is much closer, for me as a Catholic. That may be attributed to my age or circumstances, but that has been my experience.
I think the observations in this last posting are based on confused perceptions of the meaning and practices of Catholics. I see no purpose of attacking a religion that worships the same Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. More information on how I view this topic can be found at http://www.catholic.com/library/Do_Catholics_Worship_Statues.asp.
Peace and blessings be with you.
Tim Elliotit
Tim,
Thanks, I’m not trying to offend anyone just make people think.
Great Bend, where I minister, is a very Catholic community. I have 7 Catholic converts in my church and have actually baptized a nun who left the convent.
I am not anti-Catholic. I do though see a great deal of emphasis placed on Mary and the saints. Many people fail to realize that we can boldly enter God’s throne room based on what Jesus has done for us. Outside of what Jesus has done for us we cannot enter the throne room at all.
Just like in the Old Testament…the Priest could not enter the Most Holy Place without the proper blood sacrifice. To ask anyone short of Jesus Himself to intercede on our behalf is a form of idolatry.
I do not want to be argumentative just informative.
Trust me when I say the hold these saints and spirits have on people are pretty strong. I have learned to be very subtle in my encounters Catholics.
In Christs service, Tom
That is really tough news, but I’m glad you wrote it. Now I understand the adoration of the Saints better.
Did you send this to any of your Catholic friends? I’m wondering what their response would be… DAVID
My Catholic friends are limited greatly after religious discussions. I about got lynched after a Lenton luncheon where I spoke at St. Rose auditorium a few years ago.
I have even irritated Father Reggie with some of my Public Forums.
There are so many differences between Protestant/Catholic systems that it’s difficult to find any grounds to agree on.
I say Jesus and Him alone and they add the church. From there it goes downhill.
I am Italian and Catholic, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that Catholics do say the same that you say, about Protestant Churches and Voodoo churches as well. Elements for one or the other opinion can be easily found in the Bible, for the Bible says all and the contrary of all. Am I saying I’m not a believer? Not at all. I am only saying there is one God, even though He has many faces, and I’ve now come to understand, after many years, that what really matters, is not how God shows himself but that he SHOWS himself. The word of Christ speaks very clearly about people who claim they are disciples of Jesus and they are not, for they judge, persecute and humiliate other people.
At the same time, one should surely recognize the spiritual power into some tribal cultures like the Native American peoples, the Holy Spirit is very asiware of this truth before posting anything about other cultures.
And I add also a thing. The devotion to the Virgin Mary in Catholic religion is clearly no more than a devotion to the female side of God – and for the Universe was created on polarities, male AND female – you can’t deny the female principle in every aspect of your life and doing so will only bring pain and sorrow to your life.
The Mother exists, and she is no more than the complementary female side of the Father. Note: officially no Catholic will say that, they will state that the Virgin Mary is only a Saint, but you just have to enter a Church in Italy to understand that She’s more than a saint (just to have an idea, about 80% of churches in Italy are dedicated to the Mother Mary and to one of her many names). The cult of the Virgin Mary is the main cult in Italy, and most of the prayers of the devotees are for her. The Mother is the Mother, and the curiosity is those churches many times are built in places where there were pre-roman or Roman ancient temples devoted to other female deities, and many times close to a sacred fountain or thermal water.
I pity a bit the people who try to understand the word of God by reading the Bible literally. Remember that God speaks to the children. God only speaks to people who have an open heart to see him without any kind of prejudice.
Blessings
Angelica
God revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through Him.
We must present a blood offering to God to come before Him. The only offering He will accept is the pure and undifiled Lamb of God who is Jesus.
Any other way will not satisfy the requirement God the Father has established as the redeeming price for sin.
Mary did not die for my sin! No other diety claiming idol died for my sin. The only sacrifice worthy of redemption is the one Jesus made at the cross.
This was proven at the resurrection. If Jesus would not have been a perfect sinless sacrifice, death would have been able to hold Him in the grave. Since Jesus had no sin, death could not hold Him and now we know that Christ satisfies the sacrificial requirement that God placed on sin.
As you can see, if you so desire to see, Jesus is our only hope before God.
Thanks for your reply I pray my rebuttle helps you to understand the true way back to the Father God.
With love and prayers, Tom
P.S. Just because someone claims to be a Christian doesn’t make them one. So when a so called Christian does evil don’t convict all Christians. I’ll admit that there are many who claim to follow Christ who are not filled with a Spirit of Holiness.